The record Powerball jackpot just keeps rising. It now stands at $550 million after officials say brisk sales keep driving up the payout amount.
The jackpot was boosted to $500 million on Tuesday and raised again Wednesday morning to $550 million. A winner taking the cash option would get $360.2 million before taxes. The numbers are an estimate and could be increased again as the drawing nears.
Powerball officials say they now believe there is a 75 percent chance that the winning combination of numbers will be drawn Wednesday night.
But many of the customers who lined up at a 7-Eleven store at Wacker and Wabash believed they had a 100 percent chance of winning tonight.
"I've got it," Marvin Harvey, 48, told the store clerk. "This is it."
And Harvey has plans. First off, having a private jet fly him and about 40 others to the SoHo neighborhood in New York City to eat and shop.
"Then take it to Paris and then go on a Mediterranean cruise," he said. "Then come back and share it with the world."
He would also give about 10 percent to churches and maybe start an organization to help the homeless. "You have so much money you have to share it," he said.
Martin Ho, 34, said he has given more thought about how to better his chances at winning the jackpot than he has about what he would do with the money.
"My goal is to have 100 different numbers between all the pools," he said. "I think I'm at (about) 90 numbers."
Ho popped into the 7-Eleven store this morning with colleague Whitney McKedy to purchase about 10 tickets jointly.
Ho said he is part of a handful of pools, including one with 50 numbers split between 10 people. He has also bought some tickets for himself.
As for what he would do with the money? "Change my name, hire a lawyer," he joked. "I don't really think about it. It's more about the energy."
Zafer Aksit, 63, was a long way from home when he threw in $10 for lottery tickets. The radiologist flew into the city last week from Instanbul, Turkey for a medical conference. While he was in his hotel room in the Loop, he saw on the news that the jackpot had gotten up to $500 million and thought it was worth a shot.
"I thought, 'Why not?' "
Aksit insisted he wouldn't spend the money on lavish gifts on himself. "I wouldn't go on a shopping spree," he said.
He thinks the money would be better spent as investments in local businesses and non-profits, like a breast cancer clinic.
Powerball has not had a winner for two months. Powerball is sold in Illinois and 41 other states, as well as Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The chance of winning the Powerball jackpot are about one in 175 million, compared to about one in 280,000 for being struck by lightning.
Despite the long odds, the record payout has drawn interest from around the world, said Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, where Powerball is based. Lottery officials have received calls and emails from people outside the United States asking if they can buy a ticket from afar. They cannot.
"Sales across the country are just through the roof. It means lots of people are having fun with this, but it makes it difficult to keep up with the (jackpot) estimate."
The previous top Powerball prize of $365 million was won in 2006 by ConAgra slaughterhouse workers in Nebraska.
A $656 million Mega Millions jackpot set a world lottery record in March. That prize was split three ways. One of the winning tickets was held by Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud in southern Illinois. The retired couple took home nearly $119 million.
Tribune reporter Naomi Nix, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed
Powerball jackpot hits $550 million: 'I've got it'
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Powerball jackpot hits $550 million: 'I've got it'
